Rocket racing prepares for take-off

THE skies above Oshkosh, Wisconsin, are usually as sleepy as the town below, but in August they come alive with the howl of jet engines and whirr of propellers. Oshkosh is home to the world's largest annual air show, properly called the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh but affectionately known as "Oshkosh" by the nearly 1 million fans who flock to it every year.

Over the years Oshkosh has seen it all, from elegant second-world-war Mustangs and Spitfires to cutting-edge 21st-century planes such as the stealthy F-22 Raptors. In 2005, it hosted the first and only public appearance of Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne after it had won the X Prize for being the first privately funded spacecraft to make it into space twice within two weeks.

This year's show will feature another first: the throaty roar of rocket-powered planes going head-to-head in a race of speed and agility. After nearly three years ...

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